This segment allows managers to ask questions that will be answered directly by our CEO, Darcy Swift. This month’s question is:
QUESTION: I have had an employee that has been on the fence for a while. Her performance has been consistently getting poorer, even with multiple conversations and feedback. She just seems distracted and uninterested. I was planning ANOTHER meeting this week to try my best get her back on track so I won’t have to let her go. When I emailed her about a meeting she sent back a very snarky, sarcastic and disrespectful response. When we met I was already annoyed, but her attitude going into the meeting was very dismissive and I just lost it. My temper boiled over and in a split second I found my self yelling at her right there in my office. Regardless of how she was acting I KNOW I messed up and now I’m not quite sure of the best way to recover. My intentions were to create very clear options for this employee but instead I completely exploded. How do I handle this going forward? I want to take the steps needed to make it right without compromising my own job or validating the employees behavior.
ANSWER: While this is a serious matter, there is always a way to address each situation in a professional manner. First of all, take a breath. You had a human moment- this happens to everyone at some point as we are all humans. While we strive to remain professional, sometimes things happen.
One of the best ways to address this situation is to approach it humbly and with a witness. You will get more respect if you make yourself personable, but you also want to address the reason for the explosion in the first place. Schedule a private meeting with that person and invite a witness to be present (a supervisor or someone in your HR department) and apologize for blowing up on them.
Acknowledge to yourself that this person triggers anger and protect yourself by starting the meeting out with some ground rules; I talk until I’m finished and THEN you can respond. Make sure you are mentally and emotionally in the right place to have the conversation. Prepare by writing out an outline with pinpointed subjects to address so you stay on course.
Keep in mind that even with ground rules, there still may be interruptions or disrespectful facial expressions. Your job at this point is not to respond but to continue forward with your conversation. Communicate to the employee the goals you were trying to achieve in your previous meeting while expressing your mistake and human moment. It is important to genuinely apologize for your behavior, as you know it was over the line. Giving a scripted, insincere apology will only make the situation worse. Let the employee know that you regret your outburst and you will do your absolute best to never let it happen again. Then discuss their behavior and next steps if they are unable to show willingness to improve. Have an outline of what was discussed written out for everyone to sign (including your witness) so the conversation and resolution is documented.
If you have a question you want answered, please contact us HERE. We will feature one frequently asked question a month.
This segment allows managers to ask questions that will be answered directly by our CEO, Darcy Swift. This month’s question is:
QUESTION: I have had an employee that has been on the fence for a while. Her performance has been consistently getting poorer, even with multiple conversations and feedback. She just seems distracted and uninterested. I was planning ANOTHER meeting this week to try my best get her back on track so I won’t have to let her go. When I emailed her about a meeting she sent back a very snarky, sarcastic and disrespectful response. When we met I was already annoyed, but her attitude going into the meeting was very dismissive and I just lost it. My temper boiled over and in a split second I found my self yelling at her right there in my office. Regardless of how she was acting I KNOW I messed up and now I’m not quite sure of the best way to recover. My intentions were to create very clear options for this employee but instead I completely exploded. How do I handle this going forward? I want to take the steps needed to make it right without compromising my own job or validating the employees behavior.
ANSWER: While this is a serious matter, there is always a way to address each situation in a professional manner. First of all, take a breath. You had a human moment- this happens to everyone at some point as we are all humans. While we strive to remain professional, sometimes things happen.
One of the best ways to address this situation is to approach it humbly and with a witness. You will get more respect if you make yourself personable, but you also want to address the reason for the explosion in the first place. Schedule a private meeting with that person and invite a witness to be present (a supervisor or someone in your HR department) and apologize for blowing up on them.
Acknowledge to yourself that this person triggers anger and protect yourself by starting the meeting out with some ground rules; I talk until I’m finished and THEN you can respond. Make sure you are mentally and emotionally in the right place to have the conversation. Prepare by writing out an outline with pinpointed subjects to address so you stay on course.
Keep in mind that even with ground rules, there still may be interruptions or disrespectful facial expressions. Your job at this point is not to respond but to continue forward with your conversation. Communicate to the employee the goals you were trying to achieve in your previous meeting while expressing your mistake and human moment. It is important to genuinely apologize for your behavior, as you know it was over the line. Giving a scripted, insincere apology will only make the situation worse. Let the employee know that you regret your outburst and you will do your absolute best to never let it happen again. Then discuss their behavior and next steps if they are unable to show willingness to improve. Have an outline of what was discussed written out for everyone to sign (including your witness) so the conversation and resolution is documented.
If you have a question you want answered, please contact us HERE. We will feature one frequently asked question a month.